An open letter to you

Dearest  You.

I have no idea what you are going through. Right now your life could be on a high or it could be facing a series of lows. If your fortunate enough to be happy and things are good for you right now - then all I can say is - embrace every second of it, appreciate it and try your hardest to not let that feeling go, take it in and remember how lucky you are, happiness for you may not last for long, it may last for the rest of your time, but whatever you do, remember to give back some of that happiness and do your best to bring to others the happiness and love that you are feeling.

If you are not so lucky, and if reading this you could do with some happiness and inner peace then read on, and I can only hope that these words may bring you at-least some reassurance.

When I worked as a care nurse it's safe to say that all the people I cared for were coming to the ends of their lives. One woman in particular lived alone in a grand house, she had tons of money, tons of expensive antiques and her house was superior and grand to others I cared for. She was widowed and had been alone for the last thirty years, her husband was far older than her when they married and they did not have any children. Here she was reaching the last final stage of her life, and she had nobody to share it with, she was alone. Her grand house was left unused and in the end she was sanctioned by her own debilitating disease and old age, that she was left sleeping and living in one room downstairs. The grandeur that was once there was lost, and all the money in the world could not bring her the love and care she needed in the end.  It's safe to say that working as a care nurse opened my eyes to a-lot but if there is one thing I realized - It was that - In the end the dreams you create whether it is to be rich, successful or to have grand things - genuinely do not count for much in the end - Love and family are what you will crave in the end, because these are the things that make us safe and secure, these are the things we want to leave this world having, to me having a family will be my greatest success - So cater your dreams so that they will last a lifetime, and aim for what will make you happy in the end, if you were to leave this world - what mark would you have wanted to make? Sometimes our dreams don't have to be big - they can be as simple as dreaming to be happy and dreaming for a successful base - a family.

Make your dreams bigger than your fears.

Another eye opening in my life - was travelling. In Surin in Thailand I witnessed poverty - Now I am not on about the type of poverty where you cross a few homeless people in town - I am on about a place where people have never seen certain things, and never had luxuries that we do here. The things we have here we take for granted, for example - we think nothing of taking a hot shower or bath daily - But most will not have ever had a hot shower. Taking a step back and seeing what we do have, and to stop thinking about what we don't have is probably one of the most important things we can do. We all have so much more than we first realize, and just because we might not necessarily see them, does not mean they don't exist.

Working with children and babies as a full time job - has taught me some simplicitys about life.

Children do not judge. Children embrace anybody. Children love faultlessly and take in no account of our own faults. Children communicate their needs simply. They are hungry - they are sad. They are tired - they are sad. Someones snatched their toy - they are sad. Life as a child is simple. It's sad that when we grow older things start to change, society tells us who to socialise with, who to judge and life teaches us along the way that we cannot love faultlessly, because we have our own hearts to protect too, and in the long run, others wont love us back faultlessly. None of us are without fault.

So if there is one thing you can do it is to try your hardest to be kind, and to learn the importance of giving.

Remember everything happens the way it is meant to happen.

If you fail. Try again. Have no regrets, and no shame, you are who you are, if you cant accept who you are don't expect anybody else too.

You have been hurt. We all have, doesn't mean we let it destroy us, let it make you not break you.

Carrying on with life and accepting whats happened is the most important and vital life lesson of them all.

Life goes on, with or without you, so you can either fall and never get back up or you can push forwards and get stronger and stronger everyday.

At the end of it all - Only you can do these things, only you can make the change in yourself, we all have a choice in life, there are no if's or but's and we can't wait around for someone to save us or to fix it all as it might never happen, we have to stand tall on our own two feet and get on with it. 

Jade xox

Life Lessons

Some things about life I have learnt along the way so far.

Friends

 





Angels that lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.


I am fortunate to have a great circle of amazing friends, with all different reasons and stories for how they got to be my friend in the first place. I treasure them all and without even one of them I would feel lost. Friends are the family we choose, and I have learnt after losing friends and drifting apart that the most important thing is to let your friends know that you value and appreciate all they do, smother them with it if you have to, its important to make them feel as important as they make you, never leave tension or arguements, fix messy situations while you can, and make time for your friends. :)


Relationships & Love

You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free. 

Like all of you reading, I have been hurt, I have loved, I have been alone etc etc. 
The most important thing I have learnt about a relationship is that it should never change you, never let it change you, and never change the person you are with. Stay true to eachother, trust eachother and be honest. These are just vitals which are the most important things. Currently I am single, and I do think I am ready for another relationship and finding someone new, I just know that I have learnt the mistakes and instead of thinking what I want in someone, I have discovered what I don't want in someone. I don't want to mess about, with game playing or chasing, if something is real it will happen because it's meant to happen.


My Nan told me that you will know that you have found the one, when that person is also your best friend.


Career

 

Work for a cause, not for applause.

When I graduated from University I was lucky to find a job working in the Media, exactly what I had worked three years for doing my Media Degree. The job I fought for, and strived for, and I successfully worked in the Media for a year and a half. Producing the content and more that you see above. Designing books, art-work, designs and graphics and it was great when I saw this all come to life.
But life intervened. I realized that this job wasn't me and that I was drawn to this through my love and hobby or art and creative things. I wanted to make a difference, not make a high pay cheque. I currently am working over 45 hours a week, for minimum wage, in a job where I am not entirely happy, because I know that the babies I look after need it, and because I am currently working towards my dream job of being a paramedic, and even if i do become a paramedic, it wont pay as-well as a job in The Media, but it will reap its rewards and pay me in so many other ways. Work for your dream, work for the rewards and know that the job you do is going to make you happy everyday.

Health

 

Since I was about fourteen I have battled everyday with the way I look, this sadly developed into an eating disorder one of which I will battle with everyday for the rest of my life, ofcourse it's under control at the moment and has been for a while, and it does make me sad when I look back and how I abused my body and even in the pictures above when I was slim, I still thought I was ugly and huge. However one thing I have learnt is in life we will have our difficulties and struggles, but the fact that we atleast try to be strong and battle them is so much in itself. Things like this are so misunderstood, mental health, and eating disorders are judged and alot of people have no idea or even understand unless they have suffered themselves.

Family

Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family.

Through life, Family has taught me everything. Family is where you first learn love, where you learn your faults, and your traits and you learn to accept and be accepted. Without family I would not be me, it's not always easy, and it is sometimes hard, but in the end, Family is a part of you as a person, and without it, you would not be you. Appreciate your family, they may not always be there, they may not be around for long. You need to hold them close, and realize what a family means and how lucky you are, as some don't have the same fortunes as you do.

Travel

Wanderlust: An irresistable desire to travel to understand ones very existence

Travelling has made me who I am today, made me appreciate the things I have and be gracious and accepting for the things that I do not yet have. It made me aware, and it made me open to experiences and it brought me friends and adventures that I would never of had. I urge you all to travel, to visit someplace new, to get out your comfort zone and to live, life's too short, and the world is a very big place.



Small Acts

- Small acts of kindness that seem small can make the world a better place, or they can atleast make the world for someone who woke up that morning feeling like that they had no world. Smile more often, be kind more than you can, there is always an opportunity to be good and to be kind. Learn to give in life even if you get nothing back, and even if the other person doesn't appreciate it, because giving effortlessly is one of the greatest traits you can have.

Behind every beautiful life, there is always an element of some kind of pain, nobody escapes hurt or hardships, so yes, you may have had a hard time, and a hard life, but everyone has in their own way, so learn to accept and appreciate. Appreciate the good in others and the good in your own life too, stop being so down and moody about your life, you live, you learn. You will make mistakes, you will fail, but start learning to stand strong, because when there is nothing else, you will always be left standing alone. Heartache is gonna happen but its a small price for the joys of life you will get.

Heartbreak

Time, experience and strength heals all.


What Lessons have you learnt along the way so far?

Jade xox